A local Emirati friend of mine sent me the link to this video of Dhiya Al Musawi being interviewed on Abu Dhabi TV in December. Google searches for his name turned up almost nothing. From what I know, he is a very progressive, outspoken writer from Bahrain who seems to have the courage to speak out against the “backward cholesterol of ideology accumulating in the arteries of Arab awareness and the Arab mind.” This is very very important, encouraging stuff, especially when coming from a respected Muslim scholar like this.

My friend writes, “It’s an interview with a Bahraini writer/intellect called Dhiya Al Musawi. It’s the first I’ve heard of him to be honest with you, but this is a very good interview. Something that will probably not make it’s way to the Western media because for a change you have an Arab and a Muslim talking about tolerance, acceptance and how our religion is used by religious leaders to hijack young minds.”

Sorry in advance, but this interview is pretty great, so I have pulled some important quotes from it here. From the interview,

I do not believe in gallows of ideology. Our problem in the Arab world is the we have many gallows of ideology, and of accusations of social betrayal, on which we try to hang an intellectual, a thinker, or a poet every day, just like in the case of Naguib Mahfouz and others. We, I’m sad to say, are against creativity and civilization, and against any language that seeks common ground in society…

We must have the courage to get rid of the “backward” cholesterol of ideology accumulating in the arteries of Arab awareness and the Arab mind. We suffer from backwardness. This is not masochism - the kind psychologists talk about - or self flagellation. This is the truth. We have not developed even to the point of admitting defeat. We (have to) admit our cultural defeat. In the past we had a civilization in Andalusia and in many other places, but today, we are regressing - we export violence, we terrorize whole countries, we threaten national security, and many other things…

We need to reform and reshape religious thinking because, in all honesty, the pulpits of our mosques have begun to “booby trap” the public. They booby trap them by generating hatred towards “the other.” We have claimed a monopoly over Paradise, and each of us has recorded it in the land registry in his name…

The problem has political reasons, but who pays the price? The country, society, civil society, and the young man, who is being told that black-eyed virgins await him at the gates of Paradise, and that all he had to do is kill himself, to slaughter himself. He might blow up his family and children to get the virgins of Paradise. This is the language and culture of death. We were not born into this world in order to die this way. The beauty of Man lies in his living for the sake of his homeland, not in dying while booby trapping others.

Yes, I listen to music. I listen to classical music, and I think Beethoven’s symphonies are very beautiful. They are among the masterpieces of human art. I believe that music develops the spirit of Man and humbles him. What is wrong with that?

As for the policy of non-violence, I’d like to give you the example of Gandhi, whom I consider a hero. If only we could obtain some of Gandhi’s genes, and plant them in the brains of our youth in the Arab world… In my home, I put up a picture of Jesus, because whenever I look at his picture, worlds of peace and love open up before me. It was Jesus who said: ‘Love thy enemies, bless them who curse thee.’ We need this beautiful language in our society.

What a fantastic speaker and brave man. This is well worth a watch. I am very glad my friend sent this along tonight.

UPDATE: I just spent 45 minutes transcripting this and the whole transcript turns out to be right here.

[thanks friend.]